--- title: "Configure the Parca data source | Grafana documentation" description: "Configure the Parca data source in Grafana to connect to your Parca continuous profiling instance." --- > For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt). # Configure the Parca data source > Warning > > This plugin is deprecated and will only receive critical security updates. Support will end on January 2, 2027. This document explains how to install and configure the Parca data source in Grafana. To use the Parca data source, you must build it from source and install it into your local Grafana plugin directory. After it’s installed, you can configure the data source using the Grafana UI, a YAML provisioning file, or Terraform. If you make any changes in the UI, select **Save & test** to preserve those changes. ## Before you begin Before you install the Parca data source, ensure you have: - **Grafana:** A self-managed Grafana instance, version 12.3 or later. The Parca data source isn’t available in Grafana Cloud. - **Server access:** Shell access to the host running Grafana, with permission to write to the plugin directory and restart Grafana. - **Grafana permissions:** `Organization administrator` role to add and configure the data source. - **Parca instance:** A running Parca instance (v0.19 or later) accessible from your Grafana server. - **Build tools:** Node.js, npm, and Go. For the required versions, refer to the `engines` field in [`package.json`](https://github.com/grafana/grafana-parca-datasource/blob/main/package.json) and the `go` directive in [`go.mod`](https://github.com/grafana/grafana-parca-datasource/blob/main/go.mod) in the data source repository. ## Install the data source The Parca data source has both a frontend and a Go backend, so you must build both and then copy the result into your Grafana plugin directory. ### Build the data source from source Clone the repository and build the frontend and backend: sh ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sh git clone https://github.com/grafana/grafana-parca-datasource.git cd grafana-parca-datasource npm ci npm run build go run github.com/magefile/mage -v buildAll ``` Both build commands are required. `npm run build` produces the frontend assets, and the `mage buildAll` target compiles the backend executables for each supported platform. Running only `npm run build` produces a data source that Grafana loads but can’t query, because the backend executable is missing. Both commands write their output to the `dist/` directory. ### Deploy the data source to Grafana Copy the contents of `dist/` into a `parca` directory inside your Grafana plugin directory. On a package-based Linux installation, the plugin directory is `/var/lib/grafana/plugins`: sh ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sh sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/grafana/plugins/parca sudo cp -a dist/. /var/lib/grafana/plugins/parca/ sudo chown -R grafana:grafana /var/lib/grafana/plugins/parca ``` The Grafana process must be able to read every file in the directory and execute the backend binary. If you run Grafana in Docker, mount the `dist/` directory at `/var/lib/grafana/plugins/parca` instead: sh ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sh docker run -d \ -v "$(pwd)/dist:/var/lib/grafana/plugins/parca" \ -e GF_PLUGINS_ALLOW_LOADING_UNSIGNED_PLUGINS=parca \ -p 3000:3000 \ grafana/grafana:latest ``` The plugin directory path is set by the `plugins` configuration option. If you’ve changed it, use your configured path instead. For more information, refer to [Configure Grafana](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/#plugins). ### Allow the unsigned plugin A data source you build yourself isn’t signed, and Grafana refuses to load unsigned plugins by default. Add the `parca` plugin ID to the `allow_loading_unsigned_plugins` option in your Grafana configuration file, typically `/etc/grafana/grafana.ini`: ini ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```ini [plugins] allow_loading_unsigned_plugins = parca ``` Restart Grafana to load the data source: sh ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sh sudo systemctl restart grafana-server ``` When Grafana loads an unsigned plugin, it writes a warning to the server log: text ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```text WARN[...] Permitting unsigned plugin. This is not recommended pluginId=parca ``` For more information, refer to [Plugin signatures](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/administration/plugin-management/plugin-sign/) and the [`allow_loading_unsigned_plugins` option](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/#allow_loading_unsigned_plugins). ### Verify the data source loaded To confirm Grafana loaded the Parca data source: 1. Click **Connections** in the left-side menu. 2. Click **Add new connection**. 3. Type `Parca` in the search bar. If **Parca** doesn’t appear, check the Grafana server log for plugin loading errors. Refer to [Troubleshoot Parca data source issues](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/datasources/parca/troubleshooting/#installation-issues). ### Migrate from the bundled data source Grafana 13.1 and earlier include a bundled Parca data source. Grafana 13.2 and later don’t, so you must install the external Parca data source, which you build from the [grafana/grafana-parca-datasource](https://github.com/grafana/grafana-parca-datasource) repository. Both use the plugin ID `parca`, so your existing Parca data sources work with the external Parca data source without any changes. The external Parca data source is available in Grafana 12.3 and later. If you already have Parca data sources configured, switch to the external Parca data source before you upgrade to Grafana 13.2: 1. Build, deploy, and allow the external Parca data source. Refer to [Build the data source from source](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/datasources/parca/configure/#build-the-data-source-from-source), [Deploy the data source to Grafana](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/datasources/parca/configure/#deploy-the-data-source-to-grafana), and [Allow the unsigned plugin](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/datasources/parca/configure/#allow-the-unsigned-plugin). 2. Add the following to your Grafana configuration file. Without this setting, Grafana 12.3 through 13.1 load the bundled Parca data source and ignore the external one. ini ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```ini [plugin.parca] as_external = true ``` 3. Restart Grafana. > Caution > > Don’t delete and recreate your existing Parca data sources. Dashboards and alert rules reference data sources by UID, so a new UID breaks those references. Keep the existing data source and its UID. If you upgrade to Grafana 13.2 or later before you install the external Parca data source, your existing Parca data sources and any panels that query them report the `parca` plugin isn’t found. To resolve this, install the external Parca data source and restart Grafana. You don’t need to change your data sources. ## Add the data source After the data source is installed, add it in Grafana: 1. Click **Connections** in the left-side menu. 2. Click **Add new connection**. 3. Type `Parca` in the search bar. 4. Select **Parca**. 5. Click **Add new data source**. ## Configure settings The **Settings** tab contains the following configuration sections. ### Basic settings Expand table | Setting | Description | |-------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Name** | A name to identify this data source in panels, queries, and Explore. | | **Default** | Toggle to make this the default data source for new panels. | ### Connection Expand table | Setting | Description | |---------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **URL** | The URL of your Parca instance. For example, `http://localhost:7070`. Grafana connects to Parca using gRPC-Web, so the URL should point to the Parca HTTP endpoint. | ### Authentication Use this section to select an authentication method to access the data source. The available methods are: Expand table | Method | Description | |----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Basic authentication** | Authenticate with a username and password. Enter values in the **User** and **Password** fields. | | **Forward OAuth Identity** | Forward the logged-in user’s OAuth token to the data source. | | **No Authentication** | Connect without credentials. Use this when the Parca instance doesn’t require authentication. | ### TLS settings Configure TLS for secure communication with your Parca instance. Expand table | Setting | Description | |-------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Add self-signed certificate** | Toggle to provide a CA certificate. When enabled, paste the CA certificate in the **CA Certificate** field. | | **TLS Client Authentication** | Toggle to enable mutual TLS. When enabled, provide the **Server Name**, **Client Certificate**, and **Client Key**. | | **Skip TLS certificate validation** | Toggle to skip server certificate verification. Use only for testing. | > Note > > Use Transport Layer Security (TLS) for an additional layer of security when working with Parca. ### Custom HTTP headers Add custom HTTP headers to requests sent to the Parca instance. Click **Add header** to add a new row with **Header** (name) and **Value** (secret) fields. Custom headers are useful for passing authentication tokens or routing information required by proxies between Grafana and Parca. ## Additional settings Click the down arrow to expand the **Additional settings** section. These settings are optional. ### Advanced HTTP settings Expand table | Setting | Description | |---------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Allowed cookies** | Cookies that should be forwarded to the data source. The Grafana proxy strips all cookies by default. | | **Timeout** | The HTTP request timeout in seconds. | ### Secure SOCKS proxy > Note > > This section is only visible when the Grafana server has the secure SOCKS proxy feature enabled. Expand table | Setting | Description | |-------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Enabled** | Toggle to route requests to the Parca instance through a secure SOCKS proxy. | ## Verify the connection Click **Save & test** to verify that Grafana can connect to your Parca instance. The health check queries the available profile types from the Parca server. A successful connection displays the message **Data source is working**. If the test fails, verify that the URL is correct and that your Parca instance is running and accessible from the Grafana server. For more help, refer to [Troubleshoot Parca data source issues](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/datasources/parca/troubleshooting/). ## Provision the data source You can define the data source in YAML files as part of the Grafana provisioning system. For more information, refer to [Provisioning Grafana](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/administration/provisioning/#data-sources). Provisioning doesn’t install the data source. Install it first, as described in [Install the data source](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/datasources/parca/configure/#install-the-data-source), or Grafana fails to provision it because the `parca` plugin ID isn’t registered. ### YAML provisioning example Create a file such as `/etc/grafana/provisioning/datasources/parca.yaml` and restart Grafana: YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```yaml apiVersion: 1 datasources: - name: Parca type: parca uid: parca access: proxy url: http://localhost:7070 ``` Set `url` to an address the Grafana server can reach. If Grafana and Parca run in separate containers, `localhost` resolves to the Grafana container, so use the Parca service name instead, for example `http://parca:7070`. Set `uid` explicitly so dashboards can reference the data source by a stable UID. If you’re replacing an existing Parca data source, use its current UID. To provision with basic authentication: YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```yaml apiVersion: 1 datasources: - name: Parca type: parca uid: parca access: proxy url: http://localhost:7070 basicAuth: true basicAuthUser: secureJsonData: basicAuthPassword: ``` Replace the following: - ``: Your Parca username. - ``: Your Parca password. ### Terraform example To provision the data source with Terraform, use the [`grafana_data_source` resource](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/grafana/grafana/latest/docs/resources/data_source): hcl ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```hcl resource "grafana_data_source" "parca" { type = "parca" name = "Parca" uid = "parca" url = "http://localhost:7070" } ``` To provision with basic authentication: hcl ![Copy code to clipboard](https://grafana.com/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```hcl resource "grafana_data_source" "parca" { type = "parca" name = "Parca" uid = "parca" url = "http://localhost:7070" basic_auth_enabled = true basic_auth_username = "" secure_json_data_encoded = jsonencode({ basicAuthPassword = "" }) } ``` Replace the following: - ``: Your Parca username. - ``: Your Parca password. ## Next steps - [Query profiling data with the Parca query editor](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/v13.3/datasources/parca/query-editor/)